


Patches of Stars

by Katrandom



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (heh), Angst, Familial Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Past Violence, Implied past torture, Its actually sweet, M/M, Temporary Character Death, and they lived happily ever after, fairytale, original creature, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-04 20:32:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10998456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katrandom/pseuds/Katrandom
Summary: The forest is dangerous place to get lost in. It holds dangers like poisonous bugs, tripping hazards, toxic plants, wild animals, and monsters that can rip your very soul from you once the sun goes down. So when Gabriel gets lost in forest after sunset it is no wonder he is a little panicked, but he learns over time that the only thing that was ever in danger was his own heart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I spent so much time on this, dear lord. I started this before I got out of school.  
> I used to really enjoy making up magical monsters and what not but I haven't in for ever so here ya go.
> 
> I would like to thank my good irl [friend](http://signedtimes.tumblr.com/) who encourages me to do this shit. (she isn't even into Overwatch) and [CarboarianNights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CardboarianNights/pseuds/CardboarianNights) who inspired me to write this, go read their stuff it is A+
> 
> I do have a [Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBmqzcPh6bGHUnPccWRkpHzSnZvac5Q9i) for this if you want to check it out.
> 
> Also just to make it clear Gabe~17-18 Sombra~12-13 Leo~8-9  
> But really you can think of them as any age.

The forest stood quiet save for the low hum of wind tumbling through the branches of the ancient oaks. The Moon sat proud on her black satin throne surrounded by an ensemble of twinkling lights as they watched the world below. They watched passively as the inhabitants of the world sleep through their reign until the sun came to retake his place in the heavens.

Legend says that one day the Moon decided to spy on the Sun so she took one of her most loyal subjects, an asteroid called Reinhardt, and cast him down to the world below. There he stayed and watched as the Sun chased the Moon across the horizon before settling into his golden throne.

Reinhardt explored the land under the cover of the trees, careful not to stray into the patches of light for fear that the Sun would destroy him. It took him many hours to find his way to the edge of the forest where he could view the town below whilst still remaining under the canopy of leaves. He watched in fascination as the townspeople hustled from place to place without fear of the Sun’s power.

Once night fell again Reinhardt rushed out to greet the Moon as she took her place in the sky. He told her stories of the town and how it’s people didn’t fear the Sun and how he hid under the cover of trees. The Moon was thrilled by his stories and commanded that he remained on Earth to collect more stories for her. Emboldened by his lady’s praise, Reinhardt continued to spy in the day and spin stories for the moon at night.

* * *

After a year, the Moon sent another to the Earth to help the ancient asteroid spy and collect. The newcomer was a star named Angela, a kind soul who wished nothing more than to study and help those around her. After a time, she began to approach the town at night without the consent of the Moon to speak with the people. While Reinhardt spun tales for the Moon, Angela began to learn about Earth’s inhabitants and even helped to heal them.

More time passed and the Sun was none the wiser to the trio’s dealings. Soon, the Moon began to send more and more of her court to the Earth so they could tell her more about the life and the mysteries it held. Everything went well until one day they were found.

Angela and Reinhardt watched the town as they had been for years when a little boy fell of his father’s cart and under the wheels. Angela stood before Reinhardt could react and flew to where the man was sobbing over his son. She gently took the boy from his father’s arms and cupped him in her hands were she gently healed him. His father was over joyed as she sat the boy down but before he could thank her the star was struck down by a fiery arrow.

All at once, the Court of the Night Sky was found out and shot down by the Sun. The people cried out as the forests burst into flames and the sky blazed gold. Come night there was nothing left of the trees or of the court that had once lived there. The Moon wept bitterly for months with what remained of her people. She flooded every river, every lake, and every coast as she wailed through the night.

After the third month, the people approached the Sun and begged him to make the Moon stop crying. He refused and told them she had betrayed him and must suffer for it. They continued to plead until he finally gave them his conditions. He would return the forest and the court but the court would be transformed into deadly creatures that could only inhabit the trees at night.

The people quickly agreed to his terms and the forests returned. Once night fell the Earth turned quietly as the Moon took her throne. Her light spilled through the tree leaves and the town held their breath as a tall figure appeared. The Moon gasped in delight as the figure stumbled to the edge of the tree line before stopping and raising its enormous hands.

The Moon let forth a broken cry as the creature looked up at her through tangled platinum locks with two pairs of dead black eyes and began to weave her light in its hands. Soon, dozens of other spindly creatures with oddly patterned skin appeared and began to spin the moonlight into thread. The Moon sat in quiet mortification as the monsters then began to weave an enormous structure out of the fine threads.

One of the townspeople ran out to the creatures and began to shout at them. The Moon and the town could only watch as one of the creatures bolted across the field to the man and pulled his soul from him before spinning it into a brilliant blue thread. The rest of the weaving monsters saw how bright the thread shown and started to approach the rest of the townspeople.

The group of people ran for their homes but only a fraction made it, those who survived hid until the Sun rose again. When the town exited their homes, they were releived to find the creatures and the structure gone but the clearing was strewn with bodies. Some were alive, most were not. When they questioned the Sun, he scoffed and told them that this was the price they agreed to and thus was the price they paid.

When night fell again the monsters where gone but the nest they had built reappeared, wrapped firmly between the trees and built like a funnel spider’s web. The Moon quietly watched over the town and over the monsters that roamed the forests and woods, building brilliant nests of threaded moonlight.

So came to be the Weavers.

_MAMLMHMS_

Gabriel was so fucked.

Not only had he managed to get himself lost in the forest but now the sun was starting to set. To say he was panicking would be the understatement of the century. A dust cloud trailed behind him as he sprinted through the trees, trying desperately to find the trail that had lead him into the forest in the first place. So far, he had managed to pass the same deer carcass about three times and he was sure that he was just getting himself more lost.

As the sun settled below the horizon, Gabriel let out defeated sigh and slowed to a walking pace. He needed to find shelter fast if he ever wanted to survive the night, Weavers would be appearing soon and the last thing he wanted was for his family to find his body out here.

Gabriel let out another sigh that morphed into a choked sob as he continued his trek.

_MAMLMHMS_

It was a very nice night, Jack decided as they slumped against the giant cottonwood tree that bordered their small clearing. Large white hands began to absently fiddle in their lap as the Moon crested the sky. The breeze was chilly, but not unpleasantly so, and the stars were bright tonight. The frogs that inhabited the nearby brook were chirping up a storm even as the owls began to gather.

Jack hummed an eerie tune that resonated through the trees before beginning to spin the moonlight that fell across his dark form. The strand of light curled slowly down from their hands until it pooled on the grass below. Their nest glowed gently across the clearing as the Weaver worked, the white walls softly lighting the clearing and its maker.

For hours, the Weaver sat under the cottonwood, spinning moonlight in silence until a bush near their web rustled. Curious, Jack watched with impassive black eyes as a softly glowing human stumbled out of the forest. It seemed tired, he noted as the being tripped over a tree root and fell face first into one of the bracers of the nest. Stifling a rumble of amusement, Jack rolled onto their knees and reached across the small clearing to gently pick the human out of the support before reclaiming their seat.

Jack delicately rolled the human over, considering whether to steal its glow. It groaned softly as they prodded at its stomach, intrigued by the reaction, Jack poked at its torso a few more times before the being swatted their finger away. Genuinely amused they decided to let it be and set the human into the rapidly growing pile of moonlight before continuing their spinning.

_MAMLMHMS_

Gabriel groaned as he awoke, his head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. He sat up slowly and opened his eyes only to find himself surrounded by a glowing white material, it was soft to the touch and held no weight. Gabriel smiled sleepily and shoved his face into the stuff before his memory caught up to him and he remembered where he was.

“Shit! Shit! Fuck!” Gabriel squawked as he scrambled out of the pile and hit the ground. He looked up, and to his horror, saw two sets of black eyes watching him struggle to untangle himself, “Holy shit.”

He froze as the Weaver rumbled and picked him up in one massive hand before bringing Gabe closer to its face. The moonlight reflected in its eyes and hundreds of twinkling, star-like dots decorated its molted body. A mess of white-gold hair sat ruffled over a large glowing blue scar that crossed the Weaver’s face.

In a way, it was beautiful.

“Please,” Gabriel squeaked.

“...”

Tears trailed down his cheeks as the Weaver moved him closer, he whispered his good-byes and regrets before he found himself being placed on the monster’s shoulder. Scrambling, he regained his balanced and latched onto the shoulder before the Weaver leaned back against the massive tree behind them and continued its work. Gabriel sat stunned.

“Why?” he tried, hoping for a response but knowing he wouldn’t get one. He resigned himself to his new position as a decoration and hoped the sun would come before the Weaver’s interest ran out.

“ **Jack** ”

Gabriel startled as the sound reverberated through the trees before looking over, “What?”

“…”

“Is that your name?” He tried again, this time earning a slight nod from the creature, “…my name is Gabriel.”

“ **Gabriel Reyes** ,” the Weaver confirmed, once more startling the human resting on their shoulder.

“How did-“

“ **The Moon knows** ,” the Weaver responded simply, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh…” Gabriel shifted uncomfortably in his spot, “Are you going to kill me?”

Jack shrugged, causing Gabe to fall against their neck. Gabriel began to straighten himself only to find a hand picking him up and placing him in front of the creature. The first rays of dawn were beginning to color the sky.

**“If I let you go, will you come back?”**

Gabriel’s eyes went wide with panic and he responded without thinking, “Y-yes.”

Jack nodded before standing. They stretched to an impossible height and then knelt before Gabe again, their eyes seemed to hold a new light, “ **Go** ”

Gabriel ran.

_MAMLMHMS_

Weeks went by after the Gabriel’s encounter with the Weaver named Jack. His family had been both relieved and pissed off when he got home, he received plenty of hugs and a firm scolding that morning. Mama had washed his face about three times before she left him alone again. Sombra and Leonora were just as bad and spent the entire day laying on him until papa made it home.

Life returned to normal for the Reyes household, though curfew was a little earlier than before, much to Sombra’s displeasure.

“Ma- “

“No”

“But mama- “

“No”

“You’re not even listening.”

“I don’t need to, you’re going to ask the same thing you do every night and the answer is no,” Mama stated firmly as she continued locking the doors and windows. Weavers were not known to break into houses but one could never be sure. Sombra pouted at the table across from where Gabriel sat immersed in his book.

“This is your fault,” she spit before jumping out of her chair and sprinting up the stairs.

“Sombra! Aye, that girl is going to be the death of me,” Mama groaned as she slowly sat in the newly vacated kitchen chair. She glanced over at her son who gave no indication that he had heard anything which usually meant he heard everything, “You feeling ok, Gabi?”

“Hm?”

“You look distracted, is everything ok?”

Gabriel sighed as he closed his book and turned to his mother. Her worried look just served to create more guilt in his chest, “No. Mama I-,” he took a steadying breath, “I messed up.”

“Oh, mijo, what happened?”

Gabriel shifted in his seat under his mother’s concerned gaze. He couldn’t just tell her that he promised to go back to visit a Weaver, she’d have a heart attack. Slowly he looked back up to meet her gaze.

“I lied about when I was out overnight,” his mother’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, “I did get lost in the woods looking for Sombra’s doll. But I lied when I said I just hid in one of the tree hollows. I panicked and tried to find my way out but I just kept getting more and more lost,” Gabriel’s voice shook slightly as he remembered the desperation he felt.

“I saw a Weaver,” he finally said, his mother gasped and slid her hand across the table to hold his, “I tripped when I saw it and knocked myself out, when I woke up I was in-in somebody else’s bed. They saved me and took me to their house, his name was Jack.”

“Oh, Gabi, you should have told us, we- “

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

Mama sighed and stood up to walk around the table, gently she took Gabriel’s hands and pulled him up, “Gabriel,” she pulled him into a hug. Gabriel may have stood nearly a foot over his mother but that didn’t stop him from burying his face into her shoulder. They stayed like that for a while before Gabriel finally stepped back.

“I promised that I would visit him again, he lives alone and I figured it would be the least I could do. The only problem is he works during the day so I would have to visit a night.”

Sandra looked up at her son, a soft smile crinkled her eyes, “Of course.”

_MAMLMHMS_

The forest was dull as ever, Jack decided as they reclined against the cottonwood tree. Summer was in full swing and life was flourishing in the forest, but it wasn’t the life they wanted to see. Jack looked to the sky, longing to ask the Moon where the human was but knew that she was growing annoyed with their incessant pestering. The void in their chest ached of a loneliness that they’d endured for so long.

A rustling in the bushes caught their attention once more as a darkly clad figure entered the clearing. _Gabriel._ Jack ceased spinning as the human carefully approached, joy rose in them as they reached out and poked the visitor in the stomach, earning a muffled ‘oof’.

“Uh…hi?” the human spoke, unsure of Jack’s intentions.

Jack responded by picking Gabriel up and setting him gently on their shoulder and nudging him against their neck. Gabriel tried to protest but Jack gave him a warning poke before relaxing against the cottonwood once more. The pair settled into a relatively comfortable silence.

After an hour, Gabriel started to ask questions that Jack was more than happy to demonstrate the answer to. It seemed to surprise him at first that they would actually put in the effort to answer but that just hardened Jack’s resolve to do what he could.

Too soon for Jack’s liking, the Sun began to retake his throne. Ever so gently Jack woke their human from where he had fallen asleep in the thread pile. They found the process of Gabriel waking up to be excessively adorable and they almost felt bad for waking their companion just to have him leave.

“ **If I let you go, will you come back?** ” they asked as Gabriel prepared to leave. Gabriel tensed where he stood but turned and nodded before exiting the clearing.

Jack vanished in the daylight with a lighter feeling in his chest.

_MAMLMHMS_

This ritual between the pair continued for weeks, Gabriel began to make his trips more frequent as he became comfortable with the giant creature. Nights were spent sitting on Jack’s shoulder or sitting on tree limbs watching them continue to add to the already enormous nest. Jack wasn’t much of a talker but that suited Gabe fine, he had plenty of stories to tell about his own adventures and his sisters.

“-And then, just when I thought we were safe, Sombra comes sprinting around the corner, knocks the box over, and shatters the plates. Mama was so mad when she found out, I thought she was going to shoot us,” Gabriel laughed from his perch in the cottonwood. Jack’s shoulders shook gently in amusement even as they continued to weave another moonlight thread into the webbing.

“Do you have any family, Jack?”

The Weaver paused his work and hesitantly shook his head. The nest seemed to dim slightly when Jack turned to Gabe and poked him gently.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Gabriel mumbled as he grabbed the offending finger, “I guess it was kind of a stupid question…”

Jack hummed lightly before picking the human out of the tree and setting him gently of the ground. Gabe huffed as he looked over and saw the sun cresting the horizon once more.

“Guess I have to go. I’ll see you in a couple days, yeah?” Jack gave him a strange look, “Wha- oh-oh, ok ask.”

Jack shook his head in amusement before crouching down, “ **If I let you go, will you come back?** ”

“Of course, see you soon, Jackie!”

_MAMLMHMS_

_Jackie?_

The Weaver watched Gabriel leave the clearing, stunned.

_Jackie_

They stood up slowly and watched the human run.

_Jackie_

Warmth blossomed in their core, causing the star patterns on them to shift into various shades of blue.

_Jackie_

The world grew larger.

_MAMLMHMS_

Gabriel’s next visit was delayed a few days because _somebody_ decided to give him her flu. He was bedridden with said villain as their mother worried over them for hours, trying to bring down their fevers and force feeding them weird broths. By the time Gabriel was well enough to leave the house it had been nearly two weeks.

“Mama, I need to go.”

“You should wait another day, just to be safe.”

Gabriel stomped and huffed where he stood by the door, “Maaa,” he practically whined, “Jack’s probably worried about me.”

She sighed as Gabriel continued to fuss by the door. Sombra and Leonora sat at the top of the stairs giggling as their brother made an ass of himself.

“Fine, but I want you to go while it’s still light out. You’re not in any shape to protect yourself.”

“Yes, mama!” Gabriel said excitedly before scooping up his backpack and bolting out the door, just missing his mother’s exasperated sigh and Sombra’s indignant squawk.

The path to Jack’s clearing was starting to show signs of Gabriel’s frequent visits, the grass was browning and broken sticks had been forced deeper into the dirt. Trees on either side had arrows score into their bark that he had placed so he knew which way he was going. Gabriel crawled through the last bush and emerged into Jack’s clearing just as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.

“Jack?” he called, “Jack are you here?”

The nest began to materialize in front of Gabriel as he carefully walked over to Jack’s tree. A breeze rustled the leaves gently, shaking a few loose enough to float down to the ground.

“Jack? I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner. Sombra decided to get me sick… Jack, where are you?”

The clearing was empty save for himself and a lone possum. Gabriel set his bag down by the cottonwood and approached the nest, it glowed calmly, illuminating the surrounding trees.

“Jack?” Gabriel’s calls were borderline frantic as he paced the perimeter of the clearing, “JACKIE?”

A rustle caught Gabriel’s attention and he spun around to face the nest. A figure crept out from behind the construct. Blond hair, pale skin, a dusting of freckles, and vibrant blue eyes all wrapped in black clothing and a dark blue duster greeted Gabe. A smile graced the stranger’s face as they bolted towards Gabriel and wrapped their arms firmly around his neck.

“Who- Who the hell are you?!” Gabriel shouted, he struggled in the stranger’s grasp but was unable to dislodge them, “Where’s Jack?!”

After a minute, the stranger unwrapped their arms but moved their hands to firmly hold Gabriel’s face. They gently bumped their foreheads together and smiled brightly.

Gabriel gasped as he finally noticed the odd molt patterns that were barely visible on their skin, “Jack? I-is that you?”

An ethereal laugh wound through the trees as Jack pulled him back into a tight embrace. Gabriel scrambled to get his arms around the other’s chest and pulled them in close, a giggle broke through the silence as they rocked each other.

“I can’t believe- How-? What-?” Gabriel started to ramble, as usually Jack looked up and gave him their undivided attention, eyes crinkled in amusement as the human tried to voice his questions.

“I dunno,” Jack says with a shrug, the usual weight and echo that follows their voice was gone. Gabriel’s head snaps up, nearly smacking Jack in the nose, his eyes wide in awe of their voice.

“Wow…”

Jack giggles before releasing Gabe and dragging him to their usual spot by the cottonwood. There they collapse into a pile under the blanket that Gabriel kept in his pack and caught up on the happenings of the last few weeks.

_MAMLMHMS_

“So, Jack. Why are you building this?” Gabriel finally asked one day as they looped the moonlight tread around Jack’s nest. The work had become more difficult since the Weaver’s mysterious shape change. In fact, the being in question was hanging upside down eight feet from the ground from one of the thicker supports.

Jack paused a moment, “I don’t know. It’s just something I knew how to do when I was reformed and for the longest time that was all I had to do. Just an instinct.”

“Oh… Do you remember what you did before you were reformed?”

Jack sighed as they tucked the end of the thread around itself, satisfied with their work, they climbed up the support and onto the tree before jumping down to Gabriel. The pair sat down on the grass as Jack tried to find a place to start.

“Everything is kind of vague and fuzzy before this,” Jack finally said, “I know that I was a comet and one of the **Moon** ’s favorite warriors but I don’t remember much of my life. I don’t remember why I’m down here or why I am like this.”

Sorrow flickered across Jack’s face causing something in Gabriel’s chest to twist. Suddenly he regretted asking.

“I do remember pain, so much pain, like being set on fire and then being dumped in a frozen river. I remember feeling broken and scared but I don’t know why. I remember screaming for someone, screaming their name until my voice gave out but they couldn’t hear me past the hundreds of other screams. We were all screaming for help, but for what I don’t know.”

“I remember flickering in and out of existence. The feeling of hollowness, of everything I was being ripped from my carcass. There was so much crying happening around me, I remember holding someone’s hand while they sobbed against me until we couldn’t muster the strength to feel, to think, to be. I remember how once everyone was silent we could hear **Her** crying. We failed, I don’t know what we failed but I know we were angry. Anger replaced our pain and our fear… We were betrayed.”

Jack was shaking, tears streamed down their face. Gabriel moved to wipe them away with his sleeve but instead found himself with his arms full of Weaver. Every so gently he carded his hand through the golden locks offered to him.

“I-I remember a flash of light. We were pulled back into existence in a field. **She** was there, the joy on her face pained us but the fear she showed hurt the worst. I remember the sudden need to collect, to fill the void that lay in our chests. We spun **Her** moonlight into a material we could use and built these nests to hold what we collected.”

“What did you collect,” Gabriel asked hesitantly, still curling his fingers through Jack’s hair, the silence was deafening.

“Souls, dreams, feelings, lives. We took whatever we could get our hands on. Humans are the best sources for them, you create such vibrant colors,” Jack paused to look up into Gabriel’s face with tearful eyes before dropping back onto his chest, “We thread them into the insides of our nests and create grand tapestries of feeling. The more we have the more in control we are of ourselves. The less pain and emptiness we feel.”

Gabriel tensed slightly under Jack and eyed the nest, “Is that why you didn’t kill me,” he whispered.

Jack nodded against his chest, their arms were carefully wound around Gabriel’s waist. They stayed intertwined like that until the sun rose.

_MAMLMHMS_

Gabriel didn’t return to the clearing for a couple weeks after Jack’s breakdown. What he’d been told was a lot to take in, the legend never mentioned the torture the celestial court endured. It hurt to think that only through the sacrifice of so many lives could he be around Jack, but it hurt worse to know the pain that Jack had endured for centuries.

Finally, Gabriel returned to the clearing, as soon as he passed the bushes he was immediately tackled by a very upset Weaver.

“Jack! What the hell?”

“I thought you left me,” Jack cried into his shoulder, the death grip he had on Gabe’s shirt ensured that he had no way to escape.

“No. No, I just-,” Gabriel sighed and returned the hug, Jack wormed his way in closer, “I just had a lot to think about, I wasn’t going to abandon you.”

Jack sniffled and looked up, they looked exhausted.

“Oh, Jackie,” Gabriel muttered, smoothing his hand over their pale gold locks. Jack slowly released him and stood up before offering their hand to him. The forest held its breath.

“I want to show you something.”

Gabriel looked at him bewildered even as he took the offered hand. Slowly, Jack guided him towards the nest and around to an opening he’d never seen before. Jack looked back at him with concern before guiding him inside.

It was breath taking.

The cavern was adorned with hundreds of softly glowing threads in nearly every color imaginable. Some hung freely from lines that crisscrossed the open ceiling of the tunnel-like structure, most others were woven into the walls. All of them were placed with purpose, creating a mural that told him the story of Jack.

Gabriel brushed the threads on the wall nearest him and they brightened softly under his touch. If he listened hard enough, he swore he could hear the distant sound of whispers and church bells playing through the tapestry.

“Wow,” he whispered, looking over to Jack who was awkwardly standing in the center, “It’s beautiful, Jackie.”

Jack smiled lightly, a blueish blush spread across his face like watercolor. The colors in the nest shifted in response and the blues and purples brightened. Gabriel laughed at the display, his eyes wide with awe.

It was perfect.

_MAMLMHMS_

“Mama has been grumpy lately, Sombra keeps trying her patience,” Gabriel grumbled. It was getting close to morning but he was trying to steal every minute he could with Jack.

“Why? What is she doing?” Jack asked quietly, their head was resting on Gabriel’s shoulder while they spun moonlight, their voice muffled slightly by the fabric of his shirt.

“She keeps picking on Leonora, hiding her dolls and running off whenever she wants to play. It took me almost an hour yesterday to find her after she left Leo down by the brook.”

“It’s dangerous to wander the forest,” Jack said, looking up with concern.

“Yeah, but I mean, that’s how I found you so it’s not the most dangerous thing to do,” Gabriel responded smugly, his eyebrows raised when he saw Jack blush blue before burrowing their face deeper into his shoulder, “Jackie?”

Jack peeked at him before sitting up and facing Gabriel. Slowly they brought their hand to his face and cupped his jaw.

“Jack, wha-,“

Gabriel melted into the soft kiss being placed on his lips. Both of Jack’s hand were holding his face gently. His own hands found their way up to the lapels of Jack’s duster and pulled the Weaver in closer. Gabriel’s instincts told him this was wrong, it was deadly, but he didn’t care, his mind was solely on the being before him.

After a moment, they pulled away from each other. Jack brushed a thumb over Gabriel’s cheek, their eyes tender with adoration. The first rays of sun colored the sky purple as Gabriel pulled them back into another kiss.

“I need to go,” Gabriel said reluctantly after he stole a third kiss, it was nothing more than a brush of lips but it still made Jack blush. He stood to leave, as usual he turned to Jack, who was looking very flustered as they stood, and waited for them to ask him to come back but was met with a thoughtful look.

“Jack?”

**“If I ask you to stay with me, will you stay forever?”**

Jack stepped closer until their noses nearly touched, all sound in the forest ceased. Cobalt blue held walnut brown as the two stared at each other for seconds that seemed to span a lifetime.

“Jack, I-,” Gabriel choked, “I can’t. My family would worry and- and I- “

Jack raised a hand to cut him off, sadness was written in their eyes even as a smile graced their features. With a gently wave Jack sent him off into the night with something like guilt building in his heart.

_MAMLMHMS_

The kiss was never spoken of or repeated after that visit.

Life at home for Gabriel was getting rougher. Sombra had escalated her behavior and was now making life difficult for everyone. Mama was at her wits end and papa was about ready to snap. Tension was high in the house.

Meanwhile, it became the new ritual for Jack to ask him to stay every night and every time Gabriel had to decline. As time passed, Gabriel became more and more irritated with both the Weaver’s wishes and with his own family, he found himself snapping at Jack more often.

Jack, on the other hand, was looking more and more rundown with every passing visit. The light in their eyes faded, gold turned to white, and they became increasingly paler. Their voice, once deep and rich became barely a passing whisper, easily stolen away by the breeze that rustled the browning leaves of the cottonwood tree.

Whenever Gabriel confronted them on the subject, Jack would blame the changing seasons, saying the Earth had shifted and changed the sky. He didn’t buy that answer but there was nothing else he had to prove Jack was lying to him.

One day, after a quiet night of building, Jack turned to Gabriel who braced for the inevitable question.

**“If I leave, will you miss me?”**

“What?” Gabriel spat, taken aback by the question, anger stirred in him, “What the fuck do you mean?”

Jack’s eyes widened, their mouth opened to say something but was cut off before they could start.

“After all this talk of wanting me to stay, you’re leaving? You’re fucking leaving because I don’t want to stay out in the middle of nowhere with you,” Gabriel was livid, all the emotions he had bottled up, coupled with his exhaustion, were getting the better of him, “What part of ‘I have a family’ didn’t you understand? You know what? Fine. If you want to leave then go. I don’t care.”

Jack desperately grabbed for Gabriel’s arm as the other began to storm out of the clearing only to be pushed away, landing hard on the dirt.

“Don’t you fucking touch me, you heartless fucking monster!”

Gabriel froze as his words echoed through the trees, he looked down and his heart shattered when he realized what he had done.

Jack’s face held so much fear, confusion, and betrayal, gleaming silver tears pooled in their eyes before spilling down pale cheeks.

Gabriel turned and ran.

_MAMLMHMS_

Jack stood slowly in the clearing, watching as Gabriel tore through the bushes. Pain exploded in their chest forcing them to double over. Sobs wracked the poor Weaver’s body as the pain flared to the edges of being unbearable.

 _Heartbreak_.

The Sun rose above the horizon as Jack rolled onto their side and became numb to the sharp pains.

“Gabi… I’m so-,” they trailed off as their body dissolved in the light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep you hands and feet inside the ride at all times.
> 
> Have some Sombra.
> 
> (If you didn't notice - Sombra=Shadow & Leonora=Light)

Winter set in hard. Snow flurries built up around the sides of the farmhouse and the brook froze over. Gabriel sat forlornly by the kitchen window watching the snow fall. Sombra came to sit next to him after a while, her hair was a choppy mess from last week’s stunt.

“You doing ok, Gabe?” she asked quietly.

Gabriel turned to her, assessing the scuffs on her cheeks and the bandage wrapped around her elbow, a smile flickered across his lips, “Better than you it looks like,” he teased.

Sombra huffed and readjusted her band aid, “Tegan, that kid the next farm over, told me girls can’t be adventurers so I beat him up.”

He gave her a flat look before letting out a weak chuckle and ruffling what was left of her hair, “And what about this? You need some help fixing this bird’s nest, chica?”

Sombra’s face lit up and she nodded excitedly. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the bathroom before running back to grab a stool from the kitchen along with a pair of scissors.

“So what are we doing with this?” he asked as he started to brush out the mess of knots and half formed curls.

“I want a mohawk!” Sombra exclaimed excitedly as she showed him each side of her head where the hair was shorter, “But I also want to have it long enough to tie up.”

Gabriel carefully worked around her head, tying up the hair on her crown and beginning to cut the hair on the sides and back of her head. Sombra kicked her legs back and forth with a huge smile on her face as her hair started to take shape. After the side where trimmed as far as he could get it with the scissors he took out papa’s razor and began to very carefully shave her scalp.

“Now what?” Gabriel asked as he took down her hair and flipped it to one side. Sombra’s eye widened in awe as she ran her hand over the sides of her head. She pulled a purple piece of yarn out of her pocket and handed it to him.

“Can you braid this in?” she asked, never taking her eyes off her reflection. Gabriel rolled his eyes as he set to work braiding the yarn into the front of her hair.

“It’s perfect, Gabi,” she whispered before turning to her brother and wrapping him in a rib crushing hug, “Thank you,”

Gabriel smiled warmly and returned the embrace, “No problem.”

_MAMLMHMS_

“Gabe! Gabe! Gabi!”

Gabriel turned just as he was tackled by the dangerous duo his sisters had become. It turns out the best way to curb a kid’s mean streak was to give them more love and attention. The house had finally returned to order.

“What? What?” He chuckled as he grabbed Leo by her sides and rolled on top of her. She squealed as he tickled her sides until Sombra took a flying leap and knocked him over.

“Can you braid our hair?” Leo asked, her grin showing off her missing teeth.

“I don’t know,” he teased as he grabbed Sombra and laid on her, “I don’t think I can move.”

“Get off! You’re heavy.”

“Now you’ve insulted me, ugh….” Gabriel rolled off dramatically, “I’m dead.”

“Nooooo.”

“Yessssss.”

“Dead people don’t talk, Gabriel,” their mother chided as she walked through the living room, “Leonora, bedtime.”

“But mom.”

“Go.”

Leonora sighed as she stomped up the stairs with her mother close behind, leaving Gabriel and Sombra alone. She rolled onto his stomach and looked him in the eyes.

“You’ve been acting strange,” she stated, her tone accusing.

Gabriel broke eye contact to glare out the window, “It’s none of your business.”

“Gabriel Antonio Reyes, you have been acting weird ever since you came back from Jack’s last month. What happened?” Sombra stated threateningly as she moved so straddle his chest.

“Sombra, get off,” Gabriel whined, only halfheartedly trying to shrug off her much smaller body.

She gave him an unimpressed look before slapping her hands on his cheeks, “Who is Jack?”

He froze under her, his eye burned as he was forced to look her in the eyes. Sombra’s expression shifted to something warmer when she noticed the tears building in his eyes.

“Gabe-“

“Jack was something special.”

Sombra snapped her attention back to her brother’s face. Gabriel sat up and slid Sombra into his lap before resting his head on one slim shoulder. She threaded a hand into his hair as a sob racked his body.

“Jack was so fucking special to me,” he choked.

Sombra stalled for a moment and took in his confession before asking, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Everything was going good and then Jack started acting weird.”

“How weird?”

“Jack started asking me to stay, and not just for the day the specific words were ‘stay with me forever’. I had to say no to them over and over but Jack just wouldn’t listen. I finally snapped and made them cry and then I ran and- and-“ he broke off into a harsh round of sobs and hiccups.

“Gabriel, tell me everything,” she said softly after he had calmed down a little.

Silence blanketed the room. Gabriel traced his fingers over his sister’s back as he tried to find his words again. Should he take the leap and trust her? He carefully considered his options as Sombra continued to play with his hair. She was mature when she needed to be, wasn’t she?

“Jack is a Weaver,” he whispered after a long moment.

Sombra slid her shoulder out from under Gabriel’s forehead and grabbed his chin. She was met with a tear-stained face and a defeated look. She gently used her sleeve to wipe the worst of it away.

“Ok,” she whispered encouragingly.

Gabriel sighed in relief and dropped his head back onto her shoulder, “Jack caught me that night I got stuck in the forest. They made me promise to come back in return for letting me go. The first few times I visited I was just doing it to fulfill my promise but after a while I started to enjoy their company. Jack was something different.”

“One night I came back after being stuck in bed when you got me sick and he wasn’t there. I freaked out because there was no way I could miss something that big. Then this guy wander out from behind the nest and he was beautiful, Som. Fluffy gold hair, the brightest blue eyes, the sweetest smile, freckles- God, he was so perfect,” Gabriel muttered as he rubbed his forehead into Sombra’s shoulder.

She giggled as she brushed her fingers through his hair but didn’t interrupt.

“They always listened to me with such interest. They actually cared about me and made me feel important. Jack showed me the inside of their nest, Som,” he whispered. Gabriel looked up into his sister’s face with awe, “They told me how Weaver’s actually came into existence. Jack taught me so much and I trusted them. I think they trusted me to.”

“You love Jack, don’t you,” she said, brushing a kiss across his temple. Gabriel looked at her as he processed the words. Fresh tears spilled down his face, “Where are they, Gabi?”

“I don’t know. Jack said something about leaving. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were all the way across the forest by now,” he whined, “I fucked up.”

“No, Gabriel, you can fix this,” Sombra said with sudden fierceness, “Go find them, apologize, explain, and make-up.”

Gabriel sniffled before he let out a broken laugh, “When did you become the older sibling?”

“Since you’re a mess,” she stated as they hugged each other together tighter.

The fire crackled in the hearth and the snow stopped falling.

_MAMLMHMS_

Gabriel shuffled through the layers of snow as he made his way to the clearing. The sun was taking it’s sweet time setting tonight and was doing its best to blind him as Gabriel trekked deeper into the forest. He made it to the clearing with time to spare and took a seat under the cottonwood tree to wait.

The snow soaked through his pants before sun finally dipped below the horizon. Gabriel grumble uncomfortable before freezing, the trees were quiet, unnaturally so.

“Jack?” Gabriel whispered as the nest materialized nest to him. He stood and carefully walked around the structure, “Jackie?”

The nest lacked its usual vibrant glow, it was now barely a flicker in the dark. Gabriel gently pressed his hand to the material and stumble back when it gave under his hand.

“Jack, are you in there?” he called softly.

No response.

Carefully he began to tear an opening into the structure, hoping Jack would forgive him. After a moment he broke into the interior of the nest and gasped in horror. The once vibrant colored threads were gone, instead the walls were black and ashy. He stepped through the opening and covered his mouth as he looked around, trying his best not to panic until he noticed the curled up form on the floor coated in snow.

“Holy- Jack!” Gabriel yelped as he scrambled over to the Weaver.

He gently lifted Jack into his arms and rolled them over. Hot tears fell down his face when he noticed how shallow the Weaver was breathing. Gabriel placed his hand on Jack’s cheek and whined when he realized how cold they were.

“Jackie?” Gabriel sobbed, his vision blurring, “Jackie, wake up. Please, please Jack. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Jack.”

He buried his face into the material of Jack’s shirt and listened but all he heard was the sound of his own stuttering breath. How could he let this happen?

“Jack- please, Jackie, wake up. I’ll stay with you, I promise. Please, just wake up.”

Nothing.

“Jack, please,” Gabriel trailed off as he pressed his face into the crook of Jack’s neck and shoulder, the shoulder he had sat on just months ago, and pressed a soft kiss to the cold skin there, “I love you.”

Gabriel startled hard when a cold hand is pressed to the side of his face. He quickly clapped his hand over it and pulled back to meet dull blue eyes. A weak smile graced Jack’s face as they slid their other arm around to intertwine with the hand on his arm.

“Love. You- Gab-Gabi,” their whisper was barely loud enough to hear over Gabriel’s own pounding heartbeat.

Gabriel swiftly leaned in to pepper Jack’s face in kisses, relief flooded his heart as he drew a soft chuckle from them.

“I ha-have to go, Gabe,” Jack sighed weakly.

Gabriel’s heart froze and he jerked Jack’s frail body closer, causing them to cry weakly. His chest ached with remorse even as he held them tighter.

“No, you can’t go. I’ll promise to stay. I- I-“ Gabriel choked out, his throat tightened painfully when he noticed the weak sobs coming from his arms.

“ **She’s** calling me,” Jack managed through his own cold tears, “I want to go home, Gabriel. It hurts. This hurts…”

“No! Jack, please. Please don’t leave me here. I love you. Please don’t go.”

Jack tugged their hand from Gabriel’s cheek and moved it to thread through the hair hidden by his cap. They smiled through the tears and pulled him into a tender kiss, “I love you, to the Moon and back,” they whimpered against his cheek, “Promise to burn the nest when I’m gone, please.”

Gabriel looked down at them and nodded, unable to speak.

A smile flickered across Jack’s face one last time before they passed on. The sky brightened as another star rejoined the heavens and the Moon rejoiced. Gabriel stood numbly, letting Jack’s body slide off his lap and hit the ground with a muted thud, before exiting the nest.

A matchbox is pulled from the worn back pack along with the blanket the pair had spent many night wrapped together under. In two strikes it is set ablaze and thrown into the nest with what is left of Gabriel’s heart.

He leaves the clearing with purple flames to light his way.

_MAMLMHMS_

Sombra watched from the kitchen as purple colored the sky, a feeling of dread hung heavily in her gut.

She knew something was very wrong as soon as she saw Gabriel trudging through the snow. There is no hesitation when she throws open the door and sprints barefoot through the snow to him.

“Gabriel! Gabriel, what happened? Is Jack ok?” she asks frantically, as he scoops her up and carries her back to the house.

He sets her down and gives her a confused look, “Who’s Jack?”

Sombra watched in horror as he locks the door before picking her back up and carrying her up the stairs. His face is a mask of peace as he takes her to her room and tucks her in.

“Good night,” he says in a smooth unwavering voice before heading into his own room.

The next morning she is up before the rest of her family, having hardly slept that night. Sombra pulls on her boots and high-collared coat before bolting out into the snow covered forest. Gabriel’s boot prints from the night before are barely visible is the light of the sunrise but luckily she’s been on enough hunting trips with papa to track them.

Soon enough, she finds herself in a tiny clearing full of sparkling dust and melted snow. Sombra carefully picked her way across the mud before crouching down and smearing her fingers through the dust, swallowing hard when it disappears in the light. Dread rose into her throat as she stood back up and walked to the center.

“What are you?” she wonders aloud, flinching as her voice disturbs the peace of the forest.

Resting in a smaller crater was a hunk of frosted rock. Carefully, Sombra approached the object and gently brushed off the top reveling a molted black and blue surface. She pressed her hand to the edges of the porous surface but jerked back with a scream when her vision went staticy.

Dropping to the ground like a sack of flour, Sombra seizes as visions of fire flood her mind. She squirms helplessly as scenes of war flash before her, false memories of fear and desperation force sobs from her chest. Finally after hours of battle, the memories soften and she goes limp in the mud.

_A young human enters the clearing with a core of warm burnt orange wrapped in yellow._

_The colors shift over time from fearful yellow to a softer green of curiosity._

_A familiar pet name causes a sudden shift in the viewer._

_The colors are red in anger until realization lightens them to an affectionate pink._

_Time ripens the soft pink into vibrant fusias and violets of love and adoration that wrap around the oranges of his core like flowers._

_The human feels like home._

_Violent reds and sickly yellows begin to form cracks in the wilting blooms of pink until they cover and consume them._

_Loss causes the viewer’s natural cool blues to rot into moldy greens and maroons._

_The innocent white of fallen snow no longer brings joy to the viewer._

_Gray finally consumes the blue fire in the viewer, only the tiny golden sparks of hope keep them going._

_The cold that once comforted them with memories of the sky now serve as a bitter reminder of their failures._

_Burnt orange enters the clearing tangled in blue remorse and golden hope._

_His warmth isn’t enough but they don’t care as a pink edged in orange blooms in their own chest before the cold takes them._

_~_

**_If I promise you my heart, will you love me for eternity, Gabriel?_ **

_~_

Sombra groans as she comes to and pushes herself upward. Her head is pounding as she stumbles to her feet. The mud forces her to use the last of her strength to struggle out of it and into the snow. Slowly, she takes in her surroundings before panic overtakes here and she finds herself sprinting home.

The sun hung high in the sky as the girl slipped and slide between trees. Melting snow dropped heavily from branches, narrowly missing her small form. Screaming echoed in Sombra’s skull, chasing her into the yard and over to the barn where she collapsed into a sobbing heap until Papa found her and brought her inside.

_MAMLMHMS_

Sombra remained bedridden for a week after the incident trapped between the waking world and the hellish nightmares that plagued her unconscious. She was only half aware of the comings and goings of her family and the warmth of Leonora curled into her side at night. The nightmares soon faded from her mind and by the seventh day they were barely echoes in her memory.

Sun poured in through the parted curtains of Sombra’s room and sprawled across her face. A groan escaped her as she rolled over on top of Leo, who squeaked indignantly.

“Get off,” the younger girl whined as Sombra stretched out on top of her.

“No, you’re comfy,” Sombra mumbled as she borrowed into her sister, causing her to giggle.

Sombra cracked her eyes open to glance down at her new body pillow and gasped softly. Instead of just seeing Leonora’s tangled brown hair and toothy smile, she saw a soft yellow hue laced with fine strings of pink and baby blues. She watched curiously as she brushed her fingers through the younger’s hair and the strings shimmered in response to the contact.

“Oh! You’re awake!” came an excited voice from the doorway. Sombra’s eyes snapped up to see an earthy brown figure spiked with warm oranges and vines of green.

“Mama?” she asked eyes wide as the green vines blossomed with lilacs.

“Oh, my baby. You had us so worried. First you disappear and then your father finds you out it the barn. Oh, my little shadow,” Mama said as she wrapped her daughter in her arms, “You cried so much. I felt so helpless.”

“I’m sorry, mama,” Sombra whimpered softly into her apron, Leonora clung to her back. After a moment she raised her head to face her mother, “Where’s Gabi?”

The lilacs wilted as Mama and Leo stiffened, “He’s out helping your father,” mama said, her voice was heavy with concern.

Sombra nodded before swiftly sliding from the bed and over to her bureau to get dressed before rushing out to the yard. Papa was standing by the horse pen, deep purple with lightning strikes of silver ran through him. She stopped short to admire the way the silver shimmered with every movement of his powerful frame. A smile graced her face as her own pride and love for her father deepened.

“Papa!” she shouted, bolting into his outstretched arms.

He swept her up with ease and pulled her small frame tight against his chest, “Oh, my little adventurer is awake,” he rumbled before kissing her forehead.

Sombra wrapped her arms tight around his neck in a hug.

“Have you seen-,” she stopped midsentence as Gabriel rounded the corner, “Dios mio.”

The colors she had seen in the visions were gone from his body and replaced by a neutral cream. No longer did her brother wear his customary smile; his face was a blank mask, the usual strong strides were gone, and the proud arch of his shoulders was gone. She didn’t know this thing that had replaced her brother.

Gabriel was gone.

_MAMLMHMS_

Months passed through the Reyes household and life found a new rhythm. Sombra’s ability to see emotions faded so she could just see them as an outline rather than a filter. At first she had stayed close to Gabriel, studying him for any hints that he was just messing around or that he would come out of it. After two months of that she distanced herself.

It hurt them all to see this once unique person turn into a blank slate. His smiling eyes turned dull and impassive. His usual humor turned to blunt answers and flat looks. Once in a great while they could coax a laugh or grin out of him but it was little more than a flicker of orange.

But life moved on.

They moved on.

_MAMLMHMS_

Shouting from the yard startled the Reyes children awake. The sound of papa cussing up a storm drew them to the window in time to see a white hand slide of the roof of the barn.

“Papa!” Sombra cried as the three stumbled down the sleep. The commotion had been enough to send a spatter of acrid yellow through Gabriel.

“Stay inside,” Papa said, winded from his sudden sprint in the door.

“What’s happening?”

“Weaver. There is a goddamn Weaver in the yard.”

“What?!” the trio shouted as he frantically locked the doors and windows.

“B-but the sun is up? How is that possible?” Sombra asked.

Gabriel picked Leonora up as she started crying, “I’ll be right back.”

Sombra stood frozen in the kitchen watching her family scramble to lock down the house and grab the rifle from grandpa’s footlocker. Outside the lanky giant crawled out from behind the barn, a large scar crossed the space between their two sets of indifferent black eyes.

Hope ran through her.

For the rest of the day the family sat huddled in the living room, the hunting rifle was cradled in papa’s arms and mama held her mother’s pistol. They waited silently until the sun dipped below the horizon.

Carefully, Sombra slipped out from her position behind the couch and into the kitchen. The Weaver sat cross legged in the center of the yard, spinning moonlight into thread, it’s form twinkled with star-like spots.

She eased the door open and quietly stepped out. The giant’s eyes snapped up to meet her as Sombra worked her way down the steps. Something was familiar about the creature’s bottomless blue core and the way gold sparks jumped from them.

“Jack?” she whispered.

**“Sombra Reyes.”**

A broad grin stretched across the young girls face as she took off across the yard to were the Weaver sat, her mouth running a mile a minute as she crawled into their hand and told them everything that had happened.

_MALMHMS_

“Where’s Sombra?” mama asked suddenly.

Gabriel shifted to look behind where he sat and shrugged when he saw the empty pile of blanket.

Immediately the entire room shot up and out to the kitchen where the door hung ajar. Gabriel pushed it further open with mild interest as his parents squabbled behind him. Bemused he wandered out into the yard where he could hear Sombra chattering away to the behemoth that occupied it.

He stopped abruptly when he heard the Weaver respond, something about that voice shook him to the core, memories that had been locked away bled into the front of his mind.

“Gabriel! Get over here you nerd!” Sombra called as she was set back on the ground. She ran up to him and grabbed his arms, “This is your chance.”

He nodded at her with a dazed look on his face. He shuffled past her, his steps were uneven as he approached the twinkling being in front  of him.

“Jack?” he tried, his voice cracking, “Jackie?”

Gabriel threw his arms up to shield his eyes as a bright flash enveloped him, casting black shadows around the buildings and bringing a round of concerned shouts from the house. When he finally looked up a blond stood before him wrapped in a blue duster.

“Hey, Gabe,” they whispered, an unreadable emotion flashed across their face.

Gabe wasted no time crossing the remaining distance to wrap the other into a tight hug. Relief and excitement sent a cool rush through his veins as he held them. Jack burrowed their face deep into his shoulder and held him in a death grip.

“If I say I’m sorry, will you forgive me,” Jack whispered.

“Of course, my love,” Gabriel mumbled into their golden hair before picking up their chin to face him, “I could I ever be mad at my little patch of the sky?”

The Moon laughed as the two kissed under the starlight, her court glittering as their love blossomed red and pearl flowers that washed through the cosmos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAMLMHMS - Mi Alma, Mi Luna, My Heart, My Soul
> 
> Thank you guys for reading! Hope you're hearts are still intact. If not, than I'll have to give you a soft apology fic.... ;)
> 
> P.S. I'm am very upset right now. I forgot about an entire plot piece I wanted to use when I wrote this. So instead of fixing this I'll just tell you about it.  
> Weaver thread disappears in daylight but it still physically exists. So Jack gives Gabriel a piece to keeps with him as a bracelet. Gabriel tugs at it during the daytime and at night when he isn't in the forest he'll just lay in bed and watch it glow. When Jack fades it fades too but after the fight Gabe would have torn it off so he wouldn't have known about Jack dying.
> 
> Does this need an epilogue? Comment if you think this needs an epilogue, I'd be more than happy to write it. Hell I might write it either way, stay tuned.


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An ending of sorts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boi
> 
> Sorry this took so long. I had it mostly written and then got caught up in other projects and work. I just finished this and needed to get it posted so there might be some errors.
> 
> Enjoy

Night fell swiftly in the valley. Greens turned gold in the dying light as the Sun relinquished his throne to the Moon. His booming cadence of bird calls gave way to Her own drone of cicadas. Under the cover of the trees the forest came to life.

Jack woke slowly to the night’s music. They rubbed their face with one hand while using the other to free themselves form the arms around their waist.  They chuckled at the sleepy grumblings from between their shoulders before finally managing to escape the sleeping bear and roll out from under the blankets.

The wood floors were cold on Jack’s feet as they headed into the bathroom to changed and brush their teeth, an unnecessary ritual that the Weaver found intensely amusing for some reason. Gabriel had laughed for a solid ten minutes when Jack had expressed their fascination with the process but he enjoyed the taste of mint to the taste of metal and dust.

A quick check of the house to make sure the dog hadn’t eaten a pillow again and Jack was headed to the door. Carefully he pushed the door open, narrowly avoiding the new strands of the Lacroix’s ever growing web. Gerard waved from the corner with a rather smugly look; they really needed to renegotiate their deal. Jack politely waved back to the Spy-der before continuing onto the gravel path.

Jellylights floated lazily around the yard, the gooey apparitions were as abundant as lightning bugs and twice as bright, sometimes it was hard to tell if it was day or night. Jack ducked around one as he continued down past the creeping Susan patch to the altar.

The altar was a simple affair; a raised limestone slab with spells and seals created by Winston and carved by Torbjörn. Jack stepped into the center before closing their eyes and bowing their head low. A breeze like laughter slid through the cottonwood forest before the altar and wrapped around the solitary figure. Jack’s flesh became charred black and crackled as he stretched and deformed. The scar that crossed their face tore and pulled as it opened to reveal a glowing blue core. Blond turned white and blue was consumed by black.

Two pairs of empty eyes opened towards the sky and revealed miniature galaxies reflected in them. Jack gave a hum of thanks before heading into the forest to hunt.

_MAMLMHMS_

At one point in his life Gabriel had thought that he just wasn’t a morning person, now he realizes he just isn’t a ‘waking up’ kind of guy.

Gabriel grumbled as he felt Jack slide them self out of his arms and head out of the room. He listened as Jack went through their morning routine and laughed to himself when he heard the door open followed by disgruntled Weaver rumblings. It wasn’t until he heard Jack walking down the path that he finally swung himself out of bed.

Slowly he stumbled down the hall to make sure Sombra had actually gone to bed instead of staying up all night to practice spells again. He cracked open the door to find both Sombra and Satya curled together under the wonky quilt they had attempted to make during the winter. Satya had been bothered by the asymmetry of it but seeing her with her good arm under Sombra’s head and blissfully asleep, the dryad didn’t seem to mind it as much.

A quick breakfast and a change of clothes later and Gabriel was headed out for the night. Two steps from the door he is stopped rather abruptly as he runs face first into freshly hung silk threads. Gerard cackles like a madman from the safety of the corner as Amelie stifles a soft giggle.

“This needs to stop, Amelie,” Gabriel grumbled as he struggles with the razor-sharp threads now encompassing his head.

“Oui,” she agrees, carefully making her way over to help. Gerard makes an indignant sound as she carefully places two spindly legs on Gabriel’s shoulder and gently unwinds the worst of it.

“Maybe if you’d stop leaving snares on the porch she wouldn’t have to get so close,” Gabriel growled even as Amelie laughs and removes herself. All he gets in response from the smaller spy-der is a very rude sounding rattle.

Gabriel rolls his eyes before taking off down the path to the gardens. Bastion, one of the enchanted scarecrows, whistles in greeting as Gabriel passes its thriving flower patch. Further down, the sound of chimes signal the presence of the cursed garden statue, Zenyatta. The ornament is leading another meditation session with the green dragonfly fairy, the Chinese yeti, and Father Frost’s favorite discipline.

A flash of blue light broke his attention. Gabriel stumble slightly as the pixies did laps around his head before stopping to mock him and fly off. He still didn’t understand how Jack could tolerate Lena and Emily so well when he was about ready to invest in a couple of iron cages.

“They are in a mood tonight,” Gabriel glances over to his shoulder to find the blue dragonfly fairy perched carefully on his shoulder, “Jesse is no better either.”

“Is he ever?” Gabriel snorts as he walks down to the pond and takes a seat on an old log. A ripple in the glass-like water is the only sign of Jesse’s approach.

“Hey now, I resent that,” Jesse drawls once he breaks the surface of the pond. The mer looks miffed as he fishes out his, somehow dry, hat and places it on his head, his ponytail skews it to the side but he doesn’t care.

“Oh please-,”

“The Moon is full tonight. That’s probably not helping,” Gabe interrupts before the two can start another flirt fight.

Hanzo raises an eyebrow and looks up as Jesse sulks at them from the water. Gabriel gave him a toothy smile and the mer pulled himself out of the water, his catfish tail gleamed in the moonlight as he made a swipe for Gabriel’s legs.

“McCree, enough,” Hanzo barked as he was jostled on Gabriel’s shoulder. The catfish mer hissed before reluctantly sliding back, “Terrible child.”

Gabriel cackled at the pair causing them both to glare.

“Don’t act like you and Jackie are any better,” Jesse yawned, “Speaking of the devil, have they caught Jamison yet?”

Gabriel snorted as he remembered the 20-some foot Weaver trying to down an ornery Yowie a third of their size through the forest, “No, Mako gave them both a stern scolding after last time. Jack is still mad about it.”

“Hold on a minute. Jack, aka the most patient hunter I ever did see, can get mad?” Jesse said in mock shock.

“Well, their version of mad is just giving me the “silent-er” treatment.”

Jesse threw a brief glance at Hanzo before nodding in understanding. The fairy scoffed before flying off Gabriel’s shoulder to the brim of Jesse’s hat where he reached down and flicked the mer’s ear.

Gabriel shook his head before he noticed something missing, “Where’s Lucio and Hana? They’re usually here by now.”

“Hana was going back to visit the kumiho clan in Korea and I do believe Lucio swam off to visit Orunmila’s girl in Numbani. Evidently she managed to make her first construct,” Jesse hummed thoughtfully, “She’s been wanting him to come over for quite a while now, something about recording a siren song? I told them it wouldn’t work but does anyone listen to me? Nooo.”

“You shouldn’t be doubting something like that,” Hanzo chided, “If I recall correctly, catfish are freshwater fish and shouldn’t be able to cross the ocean and get trapped in a rice field.”

Jesse huffed in annoyance at being called out like that but broke into a smile nevertheless, “You got me there, darling.”

“Someday you really need to tell me that story,” Gabriel mused as stood slowly.

“Where are you off to?” Jesse asked even as he pushed himself back into the water, much to Hanzo’s chagrin.

“Need to go pick up some supplies from Ana for Satya and Mei’s latest work. Something about self-contained environments? I don’t really know but the Amari’s are excited about it.”

Jesse nodded causing Hanzo to nearly tumble into the water. The sounds of the two bickering faded into the background as Gabriel hustled down the path to the dirt road that connected their land to the neighboring properties. The next house over was a simple brick structure belonging to the Amari’s, a family favored greatly by the Egyptian gods. The door swung open as soon as Gabriel set foot on the yard and he was quickly over run by a small pack of jackals.

“ _Get back in here,”_ came a very tired voice from the doorway. Ana stepped out with her husband quick on her heels running to herd the dogs back into the house.

“Ana,” Gabriel greeted, he was rewarded with a weary smile as she gently rocked the crying bundle in her arms, “Rough night?”

“Fareeha is being fussy tonight,” she sighed, casting a glare up at the sky, “Do you think Jack could come by soon? I think she might be missing them.”

Gabriel cracked a smile as he gently took Fareeha from her mother and walked inside. Jack was very good with Fareeha, utterly fascinated by the tiny being and in turn she was fascinated with them. However, no matter how much they liked each other, Gabriel was the true master of taming the little demon. After helping raise two younger sisters and several cousins, Gabriel could put even the most rambunctious child to sleep.

Ana wandered into another room to grab the supplies she promised before wandering back and plopping down on the couch next to Gabriel and the now sleeping Fareeha.

“I just don’t understand how you do it,” she mumbled.

“Ancient Reyes family secret,” he whispered, earning himself a light smack to his arm.

“Speaking of the Reyes family, how are they doing?”

Gabe shifted slightly, allowing Ana room to curl up and lean against him, “Mama’s last letter said the Papa still isn’t happy about Sombra running away but now that he knows where she is he’s mostly calmed down. Leo wants to move in with us but I don’t think that’ll happen; at least not for a long while.”

“The sanctuary zone isn’t really a place for true humans,” Ana yawned.

“That’s what I told her but then she started pestering Jack to gift her powers like Sombra.”

“I suppose they didn’t take that well.”

“No, both Jack and Sombra told her that was a terrible idea. Now she’s mad at me because I can see the fae and she can’t and on and on.”

“Sounds like quite the predicament.”

“Yeah, and now mama is asking if Jack and I are planning to have a family. I don’t know how she expects her gay son and his massive, genderless, space-rock monster partner are going to have kids.”

“You can have mine.”

Gabriel snorts at that, “I’ll tell her the Egyptian priestess next door will lend us her half-demon baby for the weekend, how about that?”

All he gets in response is a soft snore. He chuckles in amusement as he waits for her husband to wander back in to take his spot. As much as he loves them he still has the entire night to work.

_MAMLMHMS_

The woods never really felt like home to Jack. The towering columns of wood were a sad replacement for the pillars of stardust and cosmic debris that he had spent millennia exploring. The rustling of leaves would never replace the feedback and ringing of the stars and his fellow celestial bodies.

But the groves of trees had their own charm about them. They may not be galaxies that span lightyears but they do hold thousands of secrets that are waiting to be found. One of which Jack is watching right now.

Carefully perched atop a rocky outcrop they watch as their human wanders through their gardens. With the help of Bastion, Gabriel weeds and trims the gardens to perfection. Each rose petal is unblemished and not a single leaf is out of line.

Lazy green vines of contentment wrap around the burnt orange of Gabriel’s soul. Bastion’s own haze of yellow is visible from behind the bush they are working on. Gabriel turns often to check on the scarecrow and to make conversation even though he doesn’t understand the simple binary that constructs of their grade speak.

Jack sighs as they slide of their perch to duck through the arch of tree limbs and amble into the garden. They chirp a greeting to Bastion who responds in kind before crouching down next to Gabriel. The latter grunts in greeting as he carefully trims of a dead stem before turning to Jack with a smile.

“Hey, Jackie. Have a nice night?”

Jack nods before gently reaching out and cupping their hands around Gabriel to pick him up. They stand up with Gabe in hand and make their way to the altar.

“Find any good colors for the nest?” Gabriel yawns as he settles in Jack’s hands, “Any reds this time?”

The Weaver shakes their head in mock sadness before shifting Gabriel to their shoulder and crouching down to the ball of moonlight thread next to the altar stairs. Amelie had shown them how to wind their thread into balls so that they didn’t have to wander back and forth from the forest to the nest behind the house. It really was a time saver.

“Hmmph, no color at all tonight? Figured you would have at least caught a wild boar or something,”

Jack shrugs causing Gabriel to slide into their neck more. To be honest that wasn’t what they were looking for tonight. Jack rolled the ball to the side before picking up an item wrapped in an old tarp.

“What did you find?” Gabe asked, leaning forward on Jack’s shoulder. Tendrils of blue curiosity sprouted from his core.

They carefully set Gabriel down before taking a seat and placing the present in front of him. Gabriel looked up to Jack with his eyes lit in delight. He untied the string holding the tarp together and stepped back as the material slid back to reveal a bush of glowing blue and purple flowers planted in a bucket.

“Holy- Jack, what are these?”

**“Lunar bush lilies”**

“Wow,” Gabriel whispered as he carefully brushed his fingers over the satin texture of the petals. He looked up at Jack and beckoned for them to come closer. Once in range Gabriel grabbed the sides of the Weavers face and kissed them where their nose would be.

Jack tumbled back in surprise and landed on their back as Gabriel cackled behind his new plant. Bastion chirped in confusion from somewhere in the gardens. If Jack could turn red they would have.

Gabriel continued giggling as he walked over and climbed onto Jack’s chest where he laid down with his head propped up on his hands. His eye where bright in the glow of the jellylights.

“I love you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a story to McCree and Hanzo meeting but I dunno if/when I'll write that.
> 
> This took far too long. Don't expect much from me for a while :(
> 
> For clarity (most of this is researched):  
> Angela, Reinhardt, & Jack - Weavers  
> Gabriel - Human with sight  
> Sombra - Human with gift (from Jack)  
> Satya - Dryad  
> Ana - Priestess for Wadjet & Horus  
> Fareeha - Human-Demon mix  
> Jesse - Southern Catfish Mer  
> Amelie & Gerard - Spy-ders (just shoot me)  
> Hanzo & Genji - Japanese Dragonfly Fairies  
> Lena & Emily - English Pixies  
> Mei - Chinese Yeti  
> Zarya - Human with Gift (from Father Frost)  
> Zenyatta & Mondatta - Enchanted statues with chimes (mondatta is broken)  
> Bastion - Enchanted Scarecrow  
> Efi - Demigod (from Orunmila)  
> Orisa - Construct  
> Winston - Shapshifter/Researcher  
> Torbjorn - Human with gift (from Reginn)  
> Lucio - Siren  
> Hana - Kumiho  
> Jameson - Yowie  
> Mako - Tipua  
> Athena - Spirit
> 
> Kudos are appreciated. Comments are love!

**Author's Note:**

> I promise an update tomorrow! I spent so much time on this I figured I'd break it in half. >:P
> 
> Comment's and Kudos are adored. Tell me if I'm a horrible person because I am emotionally numb to my own fics and honestly can't tell.
> 
> I'd like to call out dualmode and MaidenM for being overwhelmingly sweet whenever they comment (I've seen you guys in the other comment sections, your effort is appreciated). You guys give me life.  
> And I see u there Silverhorse123 -u- how u doin


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